Garden Progress (5) & the hole returned!

Last week, I reported that I planted spinach in the plot again, and there were no signs of digging since. The next day, I discovered the hole returned and tufts of fur were around the area. Nothing was buried there again, which made us think that the animal came back for the big rabbit. I did a little internet research...

and...

we concluded it's a bobcat! Ack!

Image Source

No, I didn't take that photo, thank goodness!

Bobcats apparently bury their prey and then return to it at a later date. Their main sources of prey, especially in Wisconsin, are big snowhares. I imagine it was a little p-o'd that we moved it, but I absolutely don't care. Stay out of my spinach!

Most people probably don't have the threat of a bobcat in their neighborhood. We live almost all of the way at edge of our neighborhood and our house is at the end of a temporary dead end street. On the other side of the dead end sign, there's a big open, overgrown field. Across the little two-lane street from our neighborhood, there's a thickly wooded area and then farmland. Last fall-- I know this will sound crazy-- I saw a mountain lion sitting at the edge of the woods. This spring I saw a big badger and a little fox scurry across to our neighborhood's side of the road. I suppose it's not that strange to think of a bobcat hanging around.

Miraculously, one of the two spinach plants was not destroyed, so I just refilled the hole... again... and hope that the bobcat won't return.

On to our garden progress...

We got to pick our first tomato and lots of peas!

I took a quick peek at our carrots to make sure nothing crazy is going on down there. You never know! Who knew something orange would be there the first time a carrot was grown? Do you think that person thought something was wrong?

We are completely novices when it comes to gardening-- plants and veggies alike-- but with the right resources and the grace of God through weather, anyone can do it! Hopefully, you feel inspired and will want to create your own small garden plot-- it's still not too late to do it this year, especially if you start with plants instead of seeds for most things. Next week, I'll share my resources and garden plan.

Until then... do you grow anything in your yard?

Garden Progress (4)

Wow, our garden is making loads of progress! I can't believe it's already Thursday, and I took these photos on Monday. Oops. I've had a salad from our garden every night this week. There's something very satisfying from eating the food that you grow yourself. 

There are about 10 of these guys on their way and one bigger guy (in the background of this photo).

Here's the funny thing... I spent about 20 minutes on Saturday looking up information on growing sugar sweet peas because mine weren't producing. The plant was growing beautifully, but I hadn't seen anything out there the days leading up to then. That evening, we had some friends over-- in fact, they are the ones who lent me the book on how to start this garden-- and we found a couple of peas on their way! By Monday, I had picked a handful off of the vines. LE had her first sample, too.  

That was about all she ate... and not even that got swallowed. It's not exactly the best veggie to attempt to eat without back teeth.

 These little butterflies are radishes sprouting. I'm not sure why I didn't label the photo, but I think you'll forgive me for that. Right??

The new spinach and lettuce that I planted last week are sprouting, too! Everything is on its way. If you don't have at least an herb garden, I highly recommend you start one. It's not too late for this year, you'll get a lot of satisfaction from it, and you'll save money on fresh herbs.

Garden Progress (3)

Of course, everything is growing! We planted a few new things this week: radishes, spinach, more lettuce. We got to enjoy some of that lettuce, and it's doing great! 

Every time I walked out to the box, I was surprised by the growth of the bell peppers. They went from the size of a marble last week to the size of a pingpong ball (ish) this week. Amazing! The lettuce is also huge, and we've even gotten to enjoy some of its harvest. The work is starting to pay off!

In our front yard, our irises and peonies are blooming. In fact, the peonies are on their way out. 

Garden Progress (2)

I walked around our garden last night at dusk and then again this morning as the sun was rising to capture how much our garden has changed in the last week. My little helper joined me out there with the peas and lettuce. Everything has grown a surprising amount, except for the missing spinach, one lettuce section, and the radishes. 

There are 7 tomatoes now where last week there were just the 2 big ones in back. 

As for the aforementioned veggies that didn't make it...
I pulled the radishes and ate the ones big enough; I'll be planting new ones this week. As for the missing spinach and lettuce... those are gonners for sure. John went out to water the yard one evening last week. He returned inside with an elaborate story about how he noticed the garden had a hole buried in it and when he investigated, he discovered some fur down there. Instead of telling me what he found, he went on to talk about how he thought it was a vole, poked it but it didn't move, and then he went back to watering the yard... blah blah blah.  I just wanted to interrupt the whole time and say, "Get to the point! Tell me the punch line! What was it?" The punch line is that he found a large dead rabbit buried "by a dog or a crazy neighbor" in the spinach plot, overlapping into the lettuce plot. Thankfully, he didn't call me outside to go look at it before he transferred it to the field next to us. Gross. Everything else is coming along beautifully, though, and there has not been a repeat digging incident since then.




I also captured a few of the soon-to-bloom and blooming flowers that are in our yard. I cannot wait for the peonies to bloom; they are probably my favorite flower. We have 6 peony plants, each with close to 30 buds on them!

I also love how intricate and different the fuchsia are. 

I don't recall what those small pink flowers are at the moment, but I love how feathery and delicate they are. 

After coming back inside and putting my little helper down for her morning nap, I retreated to my bedroom to look at short passage for today's devotional. 

Through his power all things were made-- things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen.  -Colossians 1:16

Look to the canyons to see the Creator's splendor. Touch the flowers and see his delicacy... Today you will encounter God's creation. When you see the beauty around you, let each detail remind you to lift your head in praise. Express your appreciation for God's creation. Encourage others to see the beauty of his creation. 

Grace for the Moment, Max Lucado

I pray today that you will take a moment to look at the beauty around you that spring brings: bees doing their part to help encourage buds on the cusp of blooming, little curious hands touching tangly vines for the first time, and intricate soft petals hanging gingerly from the stem.